Why International Babywearing Week Should Be Celebrated

Posted by
Jenny Silverstone, Mom Loves Best
on October 06, 2017

When I grew up, babywearing wasn’t a
thing. Neither my memory nor the scores of photo albums lining my parents’
bookshelves captured images of my mom with a baby strapped to her chest,
tending easily to the rest of her brood while her youngest went happily along
for the ride. In fact, the closest thing I remember to babywearing was my dad
throwing one of us up in a carrier backpack. You know the ones - large,
hulking, and a tangle of shiny metal and bright blue fabric.

Thankfully, the ancient practice of
babywearing has made a resurgence in the Western world over the last several
years, and with it has come a myriad of options beyond that monstrous blue
backpack. And as more and more contemporary mothers have fallen in love with
wearing their babies, there’s now even a week dedicated to celebrating the
practice; International Babywearing Week
is being held as we speak, running from October 2-8.

This year’s theme is “Threaded
Together,” which is the perfect picture of the art of babywearing. From the
agrarian mom around the globe for whom the practice has been seamlessly handed
down through the generations to the urban mom just now rediscovering it, we’re
all stitched together by a common thread - just like the threads of our chosen carriers.

International Babywearing Week is
not only a time for celebration but also an opportunity to advocate for and
educate the public on the benefits of breastfeeding. And as this infographic
from Mom Loves Best
outlines, the benefits are many.

Healthier
Babies

Babywearing has been shown to
facilitate weight gain in preemies. But even in full-term babies, the health benefits are plentiful.
Wearing a baby can lead to reduced colic, and even non-colicky babies cry less.
Reduced crying and better sleep correlate to a stronger immune system, which
can help keep your baby healthy. It also allows mothers to keep their babies
close, giving strangers less access and reducing the spread of germs and
illness.

Babywearing promotes healthy
physical development, too. With a well-designed carrier,
a baby’s hips are held in a position that allows them to develop properly.

Healthier
Mothers

Babywearing helps mothers lose the
baby weight more quickly, burning more calories than simply pushing a stroller.
It also promotes good maternal mental health as it has also been associated
with reduced incidents of postnatal depression, and also reduced feelings of
guilt for those who do experience the condition.

Stronger
Relationships

Because of the close proximity between mother and baby, babywearing helps to strengthen the bond between mother
and child. The mother can talk, sing, or snuggle the baby at her leisure when
the baby is being worn. The baby also has more time to study their mother’s
facial expressions and body language, improving their relational awareness as
they develop socially.

Babywearing also promotes stronger
relationships between siblings. Mothers who wear their babies have a greater
capacity to tend to their older children since their hands are free, reducing
the chance that siblings will feel jealousy toward the new baby or neglected as
their mother is busy holding their infant brother or sister.

Freedom
& Convenience

Hands down (or maybe hands up?),
this is one of the best benefits of babywearing.
A mother is able to maintain closeness and hold her baby while leaving her
hands free to multitask. It’s also ergonomically efficient, using 16% less
energy than the traditional method of carrying a baby in one’s arms.

Finally, babywearing makes breastfeeding easier on the go. Not only is the baby well-positioned to easily
find the nipple, but a carrier also offers some privacy during nursing sessions
in the absence of a nursing cover.

Threading
Together

While babywearing was likely first
born out of the need for a mother to free up her hands, it came with a whole
host of inadvertent secondary effects that benefitted both mother and baby.
This week, as we’re “Threaded Together” throughout the world by our individual
choices to wear our babies, the world collectively benefits with healthier
babies, healthier mothers, and stronger communities. This week, celebrate your
own choice to wear your baby. Be proud of that decision. And tell others why
it’s so great - so maybe they’ll make the same choice, too.

About
the Author

Jenny Silverstone is the mother of
two, a babywearing and breastfeeding advocate, and a mommy blogger. You can
find her writing about her journey through motherhood on her blog - MomLovesBest.com.